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X2 Announces HDTV Media Center PC | News | Media Center PC World

MEDIA CENTER PC NEWS

January 6th 2005

X2 Announces HDTV Media Center PC


 
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X2 has announced the MEGA PC 35 which they claim is the first HDTV equipped Media Center PC integrating hi-definition HDTV digital video, sound, and data together in one system.

The MEGA PC 350 combines the features of many devices usually sold separately, such as a PC, HDTV TV tuner, DVD player, DVD recorder, digital video recorder/VCR, media hub, multimedia reader, radio, clock and photo viewer, and combines them seamlessly into one cohesive digital device. As a result, the integration of digital features within the MEGA PC 350 make it a more functional and interactive tool.

The MEGA PC 350 is the first Media Center PC with a built-in HDTV digital TV tuner that is able to decode ATSC Digital TV formats, including 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i, and can display these high-definition images in 4:3 standard or 16:9 widescreen aspect ratios onto a HDTV-ready TV, LCD, Plasma or Rear Projection TV plus a PC monitor simultaneously. HDTV broadcasts TV at DVD video quality or better with CD audio quality. As mandated by the FCC, all 1,678 TV stations in the United States must be 100% digital by 2006 and there are currently 1,129 DTV stations on air in 202 markets in the United States, serving 99.35% of all U.S. households. Over 50% of all TV shows are now broadcast in HDTV and over 80% of all U.S. households receive five or more DTV channels. The MEGA PC 350 can receive both free-to-air antennae-based Digital TV signals with the included DTV antennae and analog NTSC signals from standard cable and satellite boxes and integrates these signals seamlessly. The MEGA PC 350 can watch, pause and record analog TV, DTV and HDTV can burn this data onto DVD or CD Recordable disks with the built-in DVD Recorder. The MEGA PC 350 also features Dolby Digital Surround Sound for the ultimate movie watching experience.

In addition to HDTV, the MEGA PC 350 unit is designed to present consumers with an easy and fast way to share pictures, download and listen to music, link to mobile devices, watch movies and programs, play games, connect to home theater components and systems, access all media/data types, connect to other PCs, and more. This integration is exemplified by the advanced front LED color control panel display, which displays info such as current mode, CD and/or DVD playback status (chapter/time/track info), audio and video info/settings and volume plus PC environment data such as internal PC temperature and HD status. It comes with a full function remote controller will all of the MEGA PC 350's various functions and an intuitive graphical media menu system. The MEGA PC 350 also features X2's Instant-On, Instant Play technology that allows the MEGA PC 350 to turn on almost instantly, like more traditional electronics components, to play movies, videos and music or view photos without the need to boot up to Windows, saving power and boot-up time.

Looking almost nothing like a PC, the MEGA PC 350 is equipped with a powerful Intel Pentium 4 processor with hyper-threading. The MEGA PC 350's small, cube shaped footprint makes it the ideal size to put on a bookshelf and even has optional matching bookshelf speakers. The core of the center contains up to 2GB of DDR400 memory and up to a 400GB hard drive. The MEGA PC 350 also has a built-in 802.11b+g Wi-Fi Wireless LAN and 10/100 fast Ethernet LAN networking connectivity for the sharing of digital video, sound, and data with other computers in the network or around the world via Internet. Plus, with the MEGA PC 350's many ports including IEEE 1394 Firewire ports and USB 2.0 connectivity, it is easy to link to all of the various digital toys and gadgets including digital cameras, webcams, scanners, printers and more.

In the digital entertainment arena, the X2 MEGA PC 350 allows users to watch DVD movies in 5.1 Surround Sound with the built-in DVD player, listen to CDs, MP3s or AM/FM radio, record and play TV shows with the built-in TV tuner and digital video recorder, download and edit digital camera photos and data from PDAs with the 6-in-1 media card reader (SD, MMC, Compact Flash, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro), record video from a camcorder using the IEEE 1394 Firewire port and record up to 4.7GB of data with the built-in DVD+/-RW dual format recordable/rewritable drive. The MEGA PC 350 also includes an onboard 3D graphics accelerator plus an AGP 8X and a 32bit PCI expansion slot for future expansion.

"As the digital convergence trend continues to grow and HDTV becoming a reality, the need to centralize and synchronize all the various digital devices and media becomes more important," says Rex Wong, President of X2 Corporation. "We've designed the MEGA PC 350 to function as the hub for our customers' digital lifestyles."

Prices are expected to start at $1,699 depending upon configuration. The MEGA PC 350 will be available at leading retailers and e-tailers, which will be announced shortly, and directly at its website at

http://www.x2usa.com



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